Just celebrated your 40th birthday? After your milestone celebrations are over, you might want to pay extra attention to your diet. Particularly, what foods to avoid for better health.
The time to start was years ago. But now that you are in your forties, there are specific foods that could put you at higher risk if you are not careful. If you are ready to take control of how the next decade of your life plays out, consider limiting the following:
Cut back on processed red meat
Beef patties, lunch meats, hot dogs, pork, sausages… Processed red meats have been connected with an increased risk of prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is the third leading cause of cancer in the US. And outside of skin cancer, it is the most common type of cancer that American men are diagnosed with. As many as 164,690 prostate cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2018. While prostate relief and Prostagenix make the disease more bearable, the best medicine still is prevention.
Outside of increasing the risk of prostate cancer in men, processed meat hardens the blood vessels. This can increase a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease. Additionally, Harvard School of Public Health found a connection between red meat and a shortened lifespan.
For meat lovers, all of this can be hard to hear. However, it is not necessary for you to give up eating meat entirely. Try fish, such as salmon or tuna. Or turkey and chicken as a protein source. Both options are much better for your heart and prostate health.
Get rid of your morning glass of orange juice
Are you used to grabbing a tall glass of orange juice with your breakfast? Think that is a healthy habit? Think again. That one glass of juice contains a huge portion of your daily sugar allowance. And one cup of juice has an average of 23 grams of sugar. The maximum amount of added sugar a guy can have in a day is 36 grams.
This maximum amount is not a “safe” amount. If you are already at risk of developing heart disease, then you should be looking for ways to cut all sugar from your diet. And only indulging during special occasions.
Added sugar can be found in almost all prepackaged foods. Not only in juice and soda. But juice, soda, and other beverages are often marketed as healthy choices when they could be undermining your efforts to be healthier.
Bodies process sugar at different rates. But men who are past 40 commonly begin to store sugar as fat. Thus, excessive sugar consumption places men at higher risk of obesity. And obesity further leads to other health complications.
Natural sources of sugar, such as are found in fruits, are OK in moderation. And can help to ward off cravings for doughnuts and other options that have a high percentage of sugar. But if nothing else will do than a chocolate bar, choose a chocolate bar with 70 percent or higher cacao content. Dark chocolate has some health benefits and less sugar than lighter chocolate with a lower percentage of cacao.
Cap that night cap
As we age, the effects of alcohol on the body differ from when we were young. This occurs because one’s liver and systems are not able to metabolize alcohol as efficiently as before. Alcohol takes longer to leave your system, which has secondary effects, too. Alcohol in your system contributes to junk food cravings and can lead to destructive food behavior. Additionally, alcohol can interfere with your sleep at night. Having a sleep debt can lead to poor motor control, a lowered immune system, and put you at risk of more accidents and illnesses.
Alcohol also adds years to your appearance through its dehydrating effects on your skin. Lack of moisture makes wrinkles stand out and causes one’s skin to appear to sag.
All of the ill effects of alcohol that you experienced in your 30s are amplified with each year that passes. So at 40, expect to pay a steeper price for an all-night drinking binge.
This does not mean you need to cut out alcohol entirely. Drinking a glass or two of wine from time to time may have some health benefits. But save anything over 2 glasses of wine per day for unavoidable occasions. For instance, that in-law’s wedding or funeral, or that yearly family gathering you could not get out of.
Article Submitted By Community Writer